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Oh, The madness

Finding obsessive basketball fans during March Madness isn’t usually a stretch, but a new television campaign on behalf of NCAA basketball uncovers fresh humor in college basketball’s die-hard devotees. A campaign that launched last weekend from Caldwell VanRiper/Marc, Indianapolis, focuses on the way the tournament takes over everyday life. “We wanted to bring that to life in a different fashion,” said executive producer Sherry Boyle. “You’re just watching games all the time and you get hooked.” In one execution, a distracted doctor prompts a couple to think they will have triplets after he shouts out “Three” in response to the action on the television set beside an ultrasound monitor. Another spot has a security guard so absorbed in a basketball game that he is oblivious to the monitors showing ninjas fighting, a fire raging and goats roaming the building. The $8 million campaign is themed: “If it happens to my team, it happens to me. … NCAA Basketball. … Who’s your team?” –Jenn Goddu